Shoe



F. A. BUTLER SHOE New. 25, 1924.

3 Sheets-Shoat 1 Original Filed June 24 Nov. 25, 19214.

F. A. BUTLER 1920 3 Shasta-Shoot 2 JWITIW IIIIIIIIT.

Nov. 25, 1924- 1,516,840

F. A. BUTLER sHdE Original Filed June 24. 1920 3 Shuts-Shut. 3

Patented Nov. 25, 1924.

tsiaa FER-GUS A. BUTLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SHOE.

Continuation of application Serial No. 2391, 512, filed June 24., 1920.This application filed November 8, 1921. Serial No. 513,695.,

To all whom' it may concern:

Be it known that I, FnReUs A. BUTLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoes, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to shoes and is especially concerned with shoesof the socalled orthopaedic type. It is the general object of theinvention to devise a shoe which while conforming more accurately to theanatomical construction of the foot shall also present a more pleasingappearance than the orthopaedic shoes heretofore proposed. The inventionis especially concerned with the position of the lacing slit and theplacing of the toe cap. The invention aims to so place the parts of theshoe that while the features essential to orthopaedic construction areretained, an optical effect is produced which gives the shoesubstantially the appearance of a shoe of the popular, unorthopaedio,but more stylish constructions.

For a more complete understanding of the objects of the invention and ofthe manner in which it is proposed to accomplish them, reference shouldbe made to the following description and to the accompanying drawings,in-which Figure 1 is a plan view of a shoe embodying features of thepresent invention;

. Figs. 2 and 3 are diagrammatic Views de-' signed to illustrate moreclearly the features of this invention;

Figs. 4 and 5 are diagrammatic views illustrating prior constructions;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a shoe constructed along prior art lines;

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are plan views of shoes embodying features of thepresent invention.

The chief characteristic of orthopaedic shoes is that. they are made ona swing last and have a comparatively straight inside edge. That is, theright-hand edge of the left shoe and the left-hand edge of the rightshoe are each referred to in the shoe trade as inside edges, and when asubstantial part of the forepart of the shoe beyond the junction of theforepart and shank lines lies in a line tangent to the heel. such a shoeis said to have a straight inside edge, and the last on which such ashoe is made usually is called a swing last. This relationship is shownin Figs. 1 and 4 in which the line AB tangent to both the forepart andheel is coincident with the outline of the forepart beyond the junctionof the shank and forepart for a substantial distance. This term is usedin distinction to popular type shoes, as for instance, that shown inFig. 5 in which the relationship just described is not present, and thelasts on which shoes of this type are made are usually termed 'in thetrade straight lasts.

The feature of a straight inside edge is recognized as ver desirable ina shoe designed'to conform to the anatomical structure of the foot sincein a normal foot the inner edge of the great toe lies substantially in aline with the heel, and a shoe having a straight inner edge thereforeavoids the displacing or outward swinging of the great toe which isproduced in a shoe of the outline-shown in Fig. 5. These shoes, however,as heretofore constructed, have been objectionable to a large percentageof the purchasing public due to their unsightly shape and lack of style.It is one of the objects of this invention to overcome this diflicultyand to provide a shoe of attractive. appearance without sacrificing anyof the features which are desirable from an anatomical standpoint.

Another objection to shoes of this type as heretofore constructed is infaulty location of the lacing slit and consequently of the eyelets whichhold the lacings, and in the locating of the toe cap or tip. The lacingslit usually points toward the outer part of the toe curve. The usualmethod of locating the toe cap or tip is to have its rearward edge ortoe cap line at substantially right angles to the median line of the tooportion of the shoe. it may here be noted that in a general way the toeportion of the shoe designates that portion of the shoe forward of thejunction of the forcpart and shank lines, while the portion of the shoerearward of the juncture of the forepart and shank lines is hereinafterreferred to as the major portion. of the shoe. Usually the toe cap linecrosses the foot immediately behind the great toe or at a point close tothe junction of the great toe with the foot, but itextends across theother toes and. a commonv cause of ltltl corns on the second andthirdtoes. The presence of a toecap is very objectionable to many people. Atthe same time a toe cap adds substantially to the attractive appearanceof a shoe and performs a valuable function in preserving the shape ofthe, shoe.

It is one of the objects .of-this invention to improve the constructionof shoes so far as the location of the toe cap and lacing slit areconcerned with a view 'to removing the objectionable features-which haveexisted' in prior constructions,- and placing them so that the shoe willbe more C0111- fortable to wear and so that they will conform moreaccurately to the structure and movements of the foot.

A further object of this invention istheproduction of an optical effectto counteract thetoe-in appearance of a swing last shoe In modern shoesthe median line of the major portion of the shoe is fixed for the eye bythe lacing slit and by other conspicuouslines-or seams upon the uppersurface of this portion of the shoe; and the median line of thetoeportion-is fixed for the eye by the rear edge of the toe' cap, whichis assumed to be substantially at right angles to this median line, andby other conspicuous lines, seams or features of ornamentation of thetoe-portion of the upper which constitutethe design of this part of theshoe and which are assumed to be symmetrically disposedin relation tothis median line. I find'in practice that the most satisfactory opticaleffect is obtained by directing-the median line of the major portionof'the shoe, as fiXedfor the eye, slightly inwardtoward aline tangenttothe inner edges of thetoe and heel parts and'directing the median lineof the design of the toe portionofthe shoeupper slightly outward fromthe medianline of the major portion.

Referring now to Fig. l'of the drawings, 2 designates a shoe which maybe made ac cording to any usual or convenient process, but having acomparatively straight inside edge as indicated by'the line AB. Theedges of the lacing slit areindicated at a and the center line of thisslit at C. The. centers of the toe and heel'curves are indicated at Dand E, respectively, and the line DE is the longitudinalmedian line ofthe shoe as a whole. In this shoe the lacingslit isincliued inwardly, asshown, ,and'instead of lying to the left of the line DE, it lies to theright of, this line between the center D and the inside edge of the.shoe. It will be observed that this center line is approxianatelyparallel with the line AB, al-

though not exactly parallel thereto, as will be seen from an inspectionof Fig. 3. That is, the center line C of the shoe 2 and thecorresgonding line C of the mate 3 to this shoe, when extendedanteriorly, converge.

While the styleof the shoe may be largely dictated by personalpreferences, I prefer both for anatomical reasons and also fromconsiderationsofappearance to depart from the usual rounded andrelatively shapeless form shown in Fig. 4: by adopting a form that hasroughly the outline of a triangle, as best shownin Fig: 2, from which itwill be seen that the shoe outline is bounded by three lines A-B on theinside edge and F-G and GH on the outside edge, these lineswhen extendedforming a triangle.

One of the objectionable features of a shoe having a substantiallystraight inside edge is that it has an appearance of toeing in, or whatis sometimes referred to as pigeontoed appearance. This will be seenfrom an inspection of Fig. 6 in which the shoe 6 has the same outline asthat shown in Figs. 1 and"? but in which the center line of the lacingslit is locatedin a relationship com very substantially changed by theplacing of the center line ofthelacing slit in'the man nerabovedescribed, as will readily be seen from an inspection of Figs; land 7.In other words, the location of the lacing slit so that its center lineextends substantially parallel with the inside edge of'the shoe andcrosses the toe tip, approximately at the center of'the toe curve, givesthe impression to the eye that the median line of the shoe isdilected'straight ahead, and it thus avoids or counteracts the toe-inappearance of the swing last shape. This feature, therefore, bothimproves the appearance of the shoe and also contributes to the comfortof the wearer,,since it brings the line of eyelets at the opposite sidesof the lacing slit more nearly along the instep ridge of the foot. Onthe other hand, if the center line of the lacing slit is directed toofar inwardly, the eye refuses to regard it as the median line of theshoe, just as it does whenthe lacing slit points too far mitwardly, andthe shoe in either case has a freak appearance which.

the present invention aims to avoid.

, The usual placiugof the. toe cap or tip also is responsible in asubstantialmeasure for the pigeon-teed?" appearance of shoes inade'on aswingcla-st. Fig. 6 shows the toe cap- 8 placed substantially in theusual manner. As above stated, this method of locating. the toe cap isnot only objectionable from a standpoint of appearance, but also for thereason that the toe cap seams are, made, to. crossthe toes. It will heobserved that in this figure the toe cap-line 9, or rearward edge of thetoe cap, makes an acute angle with the line AB, this angle beingmeasured on the toe cap. When this toe cap is placed, as shown in Fig.1, with the toe cap line 9 making an angle slightly greater than a rightangle with the line A B and also with the longitudi nal median line ofthe shoe, the pigeontoed appearance is effectually counteracted and ashoe of far more attractive design is produced by this change.

I jn'e'ter, however, to so place the toe cap that the toe cap line, orin other words, the rearward edge of the toe cap, will be slantedlnu-kwardly toward or into a position substantially parallel with theline of the junetion of the toes with the foot. This arrangement has theadvantage of bringing the tip seams back of the toes and thus avoidingthe discomfort which many people find to the presence of a seam or therear edge of a toe cap across the toes, and it also brings the toe capline into a position substantially parallel with the line of flexure inthe forepart of the foot. Such an arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 7in which the toe cap 13 has its rearward edge 14; slanted backwardly, asshown, the position of the toe cap line with reference to the toes beingillustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 2. This construction not onlyproduces a more comfortable shoe and one more correct from an anatomicalstandpoint, but it also materially improves the appearance of the shoe,since the position of the toe cap line, if considered alone, would givea toe-out appearance, but when seen in conjunction with the other linesof the shoe counteracts the pigeontocd appearance of a shoe of thisshape and avoids the toe-in appearance to which the trade objects.

It is not necessary that the toe cap line he slanted backwardly as muchas has been shown in Fig. 7 so far as the question of appearance goes.It will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 1 that the toe cap 10 is solocated that the shoe does not have the pigeon-toed appearance of theshoe shown in Fig. 6, although both shoes have the same shape. The toecap line 9 of the shoe makes an angle somewhat greater than a rightangle with the median line of the shoe, this angle being measured on thetoo cap, and while ll regard it as preferable from a standpoint ofcomfort to have the toe cap line slanted smuewhat farther back,neverlheless the position of this line as shown in Fig. 1 is asubstantial improvement on the usual placing of this part of the shoe.It will also be observed that the shoe shown in Fig. 1, while itincludes the features of my invention, avoids any freakish appearance.In many styles of shoes the toe cap or tip bears an ornamental design,in some cases very simple, while in others quite elaborate, and I findthat the location of this design can also be used to counteract thepigeon-toed appearance produced by the straight inside edge.

Referring to Fig. 8, the toe cap 15 has a very simple ornamental design,and according to this invention the longitudinal median or center lineGH of this design is inclined outwardly with reference to the centerline of the lacing slit. The outward inclination of the median line Gr-Hof the toe cap with reference to the center line of the lacing slitgives a toe-out appearance to the shoe, the degree of which depends J onthe degree of this inclination.

The same is true in Fig. 9 which shows a brogue shoe, the center lineGl-l of the design of the winged cap or tip 16 being inclined outwardlyand making an acute angle X with the center line of the lacing slit.

The same principles can be followed with other styles of shoes, as willbe obvious to those skilled in this art, the present dis closure makingno attempt to deal exhaustively with styles and shapes, but beingdesigned to disclose the more general features and underlyingprinciplesof the invention. The same principles also may be applied tobutton shoes, the front seam of the upper of the shoe being positionedin the same way that the center line of the lacing slit is located inlace shoes. In some shoes also it is customary not to use a separate toecap or tip piece but to stitch or otherwise work a design directly onthe toe portion of the vamp. This, however, is regarded as theequivalent, so far as the present invention is concerned, to the use ofthe separate toe cap or tip member.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the exactdesigns shown nor to the joint use of its features. Some shoes have aplain toe, and in such shoes the location of the lacing slit may berelied upon alone to correct the toeing-in appearance which the shoeotherwise would present.

The present application is a continuation of my pending applicationSerial No. 391,4t02, filed June 24-, 1920, so far as the subject mattercommon to the two applications is concerned.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new is:

1. A. shoe having a substantially straight inside edge, and having a toecap the rean ward edge of which makes an angle greater than a rightangle with. said edge, said angle being measured on said toe cap.

2. A lace shoe having a substantially straight inside edge, and having atoe cap the rearward edge of which makes an angle greater than a rightangle with the center line of the lacing slit, said angle being measuredon said toe cap toward the outer side of the shoe.

3. A shoe having a substantially straight inside edge, and having a toecap the rear ward edge of which extends substantially parallel to theline of flexure of the forepart of the shoe.

4:. A shoe of the character described having a toe cap the rearward edgeof which is slanted backwardly and outwardly, whereby when the shoe andits inate are placed side by side with their inner edges in contact, aline oining the adjacent ends of the .toe .cap lines ;of the two shoeslies substantially ahead of the line joining the opposite ends of saidtoe cap lines.

5. A shoe of the character described having a substantially straightinside edge, and a toe cap thereon having its rearward edge lying at .anangle to said inner edge which counteracts the pigeon-toed appearanceproduced by said straight inside edge.

6. A shoe having a substantially straight inside edge and having themedian line of the major portion of the shoe crossing the toe tip of theshoe adjacent to the center of the toe curve but between said center andthe inner edge of the shoe and crossing the heel curve adjacent to itsmiddle point.

7. A swing last lace shoe having a substantially straight inside edge,and having the center line of the lacing slit extending substantiallyparallel to said edge and crossing the toe tip of the shoe approximatelyat the center of the toe curve.

8. A lace shoe having asubstantially straight inside edge with thecenter line of the lacing slit extending approximately par allel to saidedge, and ,a design on the toe portion of the upper arrangedsubstantially symmetrically with relation to its longitudinal medianline, said median line being directed outwardly with reference to thecenter line of said lacing slit.

FERGUS A. BUTLER.

